TY - JOUR
T1 - Development of the sympathetic trunks in human embryos
AU - Kruepunga, Nutmethee
AU - Hikspoors, Jill P. J. M.
AU - Hülsman, Cindy J. M.
AU - Mommen, Greet M. C.
AU - Köhler, S. Eleonore
AU - Lamers, Wouter H.
N1 - Funding Information: The authors thank Drs Maurice van den Hoff (AMC), Marco de Ruiter (LUMC), and Annelieke Schepens (Radboud) for allowing us to use their institutional series of human embryos and foetuses. The authors thank Dr John Cork (Cell Biology & Anatomy, LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans) for making additional digitised sections of the Virtual Human Embryo project available to us. The authors also thank Dr Christoph Viebahn (Institute of Anatomy and Embryology, University Medical Center G?ttingen, G?ttingen) for allowing us to investigate digitised sections of the Blechschmidt Collection. The financial support of ?Stichting Rijp? is gratefully acknowledged. Special thanks goes to Els Terwindt (Maastricht University) and Corrie de Gier- de Vries (AMC) for technical assistance. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Journal of Anatomy published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Anatomical Society Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/7
Y1 - 2021/7
N2 - Although the development of the sympathetic trunks was first described >100 years ago, the topographic aspect of their development has received relatively little attention. We visualised the sympathetic trunks in human embryos of 4.5–10 weeks post-fertilisation, using Amira 3D-reconstruction and Cinema 4D-remodelling software. Scattered, intensely staining neural crest-derived ganglionic cells that soon formed longitudinal columns were first seen laterally to the dorsal aorta in the cervical and upper thoracic regions of Carnegie stage (CS)14 embryos. Nerve fibres extending from the communicating branches with the spinal cord reached the trunks at CS15-16 and became incorporated randomly between ganglionic cells. After CS18, ganglionic cells became organised as irregular agglomerates (ganglia) on a craniocaudally continuous cord of nerve fibres, with dorsally more ganglionic cells and ventrally more fibres. Accordingly, the trunks assumed a “pearls-on-a-string” appearance, but size and distribution of the pearls were markedly heterogeneous. The change in position of the sympathetic trunks from lateral (para-aortic) to dorsolateral (prevertebral or paravertebral) is a criterion to distinguish the “primary” and “secondary” sympathetic trunks. We investigated the position of the trunks at vertebral levels T2, T7, L1 and S1. During CS14, the trunks occupied a para-aortic position, which changed into a prevertebral position in the cervical and upper thoracic regions during CS15, and in the lower thoracic and lumbar regions during CS18 and CS20, respectively. The thoracic sympathetic trunks continued to move further dorsally and attained a paravertebral position at CS23. The sacral trunks retained their para-aortic and prevertebral position, and converged into a single column in front of the coccyx. Based on our present and earlier morphometric measurements and literature data, we argue that differential growth accounts for the regional differences in position of the sympathetic trunks.
AB - Although the development of the sympathetic trunks was first described >100 years ago, the topographic aspect of their development has received relatively little attention. We visualised the sympathetic trunks in human embryos of 4.5–10 weeks post-fertilisation, using Amira 3D-reconstruction and Cinema 4D-remodelling software. Scattered, intensely staining neural crest-derived ganglionic cells that soon formed longitudinal columns were first seen laterally to the dorsal aorta in the cervical and upper thoracic regions of Carnegie stage (CS)14 embryos. Nerve fibres extending from the communicating branches with the spinal cord reached the trunks at CS15-16 and became incorporated randomly between ganglionic cells. After CS18, ganglionic cells became organised as irregular agglomerates (ganglia) on a craniocaudally continuous cord of nerve fibres, with dorsally more ganglionic cells and ventrally more fibres. Accordingly, the trunks assumed a “pearls-on-a-string” appearance, but size and distribution of the pearls were markedly heterogeneous. The change in position of the sympathetic trunks from lateral (para-aortic) to dorsolateral (prevertebral or paravertebral) is a criterion to distinguish the “primary” and “secondary” sympathetic trunks. We investigated the position of the trunks at vertebral levels T2, T7, L1 and S1. During CS14, the trunks occupied a para-aortic position, which changed into a prevertebral position in the cervical and upper thoracic regions during CS15, and in the lower thoracic and lumbar regions during CS18 and CS20, respectively. The thoracic sympathetic trunks continued to move further dorsally and attained a paravertebral position at CS23. The sacral trunks retained their para-aortic and prevertebral position, and converged into a single column in front of the coccyx. Based on our present and earlier morphometric measurements and literature data, we argue that differential growth accounts for the regional differences in position of the sympathetic trunks.
KW - ganglionic cells
KW - nerve fibres
KW - neural crest cells
KW - para-aortic
KW - para-vertebral
KW - primary and secondary sympathetic trunks
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85101830909&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.13415
DO - https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.13415
M3 - Article
C2 - 33641166
SN - 0021-8782
VL - 239
SP - 32
EP - 45
JO - Journal of anatomy
JF - Journal of anatomy
IS - 1
ER -